This document will guide you through installing Python 3.5 and Django on
Windows. It also provides instructions for installing virtualenv and
virtualenvwrapper, which make it easier to work on Python projects. This is
meant as a beginner’s guide for users working on Django projects and does not
reflect how Django should be installed when developing patches for Django
itself.

The steps in this guide have been tested with Windows 7, 8, and 10. In other
versions, the steps would be similar. You will need to be familiar with using
the Windows command prompt.

Django is a Python web framework, thus requiring Python to be installed on your
machine. At the time of writing, Python 3.5 is the latest version.

To install Python on your machine go to https://python.org/downloads/. The
website should offer you a download button for the latest Python version.
Download the executable installer and run it. Check the box next to AddPython3.5toPATH and then click InstallNow.

After installation, open the command prompt and check that the Python version
matches the version you installed by executing:

pip is a package manage for Python. It makes installing and uninstalling
Python packages (such as Django!) very easy. For the rest of the installation,
we’ll use pip to install Python packages from the command line.

virtualenv and virtualenvwrapper provide a dedicated environment for
each Django project you create. While not mandatory, this is considered a best
practice and will save you time in the future when you’re ready to deploy your
project. Simply type:

pipinstallvirtualenvwrapper-win

Then create a virtual environment for your project:

mkvirtualenvmyproject

The virtual environment will be activated automatically and you’ll see
“(myproject)” next to the command prompt to designate that. If you start a new
command prompt, you’ll need to activate the environment again using:

If django-admin only displays the help text no matter what arguments
it is given, there is probably a problem with the file association in
Windows. Check if there is more than one environment variable set for
running Python scripts in PATH. This usually occurs when there is more
than one Python version installed.

If you are connecting to the internet behind a proxy, there might be problem
in running the command pipinstalldjango. Set the environment variables
for proxy configuration in the command prompt as follows: